


The Promises that Hide Inside Wishes

by anarchycox



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Fairy Tale Elements, Feels, M/M, Magic, Mutual Pining, Pining, Unicorns, happy ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-08-13 22:38:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20181871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchycox/pseuds/anarchycox
Summary: Eggsy was the answer to a prophecy and was taken from his life when he was seven and raised to be King Harry Hart's heir and future king of the land. He spent almost two decades being trained by Merlin - the nation's spellcaster - to control his magic, to learn how to be a ruler. And in that time, Eggsy fell in love with Merlin, but knew Merlin would never feel the same. Now he is turning 25, being declared the official heir to the kingdom, and Harry is suggesting marriage alliances. Eggsy has to figure out exactly who he wants to be, and how to make choices that are good for the kingdom, and good for himself.





	The Promises that Hide Inside Wishes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elrhiarhodan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/gifts).

Eggsy remembered his life before he moved the keep. He hadn’t gone there until he was seven. He remembered the rooms they lived in, he and his parents. Mostly the smell and how everything seemed grey. He remembered his mum was tired, but had soft hands. His dad was the one good smell. And then Eggsy had a bad dream, and there was no more building, there was no more anything. Just gone. Not fire, not an explosion. Just gone.

He stood where a building had been, one that housed a couple dozen people, and it was just gone. He remembered crying, and that he could still smell his Da. 

And he remembered Merlin. In the chaos, the horror, he appeared, and crouched down. “Well, now, I bet ye are scared.”

He had been seven though, he was too big to be scared. He had shook his head no, and when his lip quivered, he bit it. “I didn’t mean to,” he whispered. “I didn’t. It was a dream, that I was alone.”

“And then you were,” he had said. Eggsy had nodded. Merlin hadn’t smiled, but his face had softened. “I can fix it.”

“Please?” Eggsy had begged.

Merlin had nodded and stood up. He had started to glow, a painfully bright shine, in the night, in the grey of their neighbourhood. He hadn't said anything, hadn't raised his hands dramatically like the few spellcasters in the neighbourhood. He had just walked forward, to where the front steps had been. He had given a small nod and there was the building again, like it had never left. “Shall we go see your parents?”

Eggsy had run into the building, and hadn't noticed the silence that built behind him, he had run to the flat and there were his parents. They had looked so scared. And when he went to hug them, they both had knelt. “Mummy? Da?”

“Eggsy, to your knees,” Lee had hissed.

“It is not necessary,” a voice had said and it was different than the spellcaster. Eggsy had turned. He knew that man.

Everyone knew what the king looked like. His portrait hung in the town center, and he was on the coins. Eggsy had walked right up to him. “Hi.”

“Eggsy,” his mum had sounded mad, but the king was smiling.

“Eggsy is it?”

“Nickname, his name is Gary,” Merlin had said. Eggsy had been shocked that he knew it. But the man could maybe read minds, even though no one could actually do that. 

“Eggsy is what you like though isn’t it?” Harry’s smile had been so large, and Eggsy remembered thinking he preferred Merlin’s not smile. “Eggsy, I would like you to come with me.”

“You aren’t executing our son, it was an accident,” Lee had risen, ready to defend his son.

“On the contrary. I am naming him heir to the kingdom. I have been waiting. Portents swirled, and prophecy spoke, long ago. Eggsy is destined to be king after I pass.”

“What?” Michelle had looked faintly between everyone. “Him? He can barely read.”

“Because in his mind roll about many tongues, languages left unspoken except in dreams,” Merlin had replied, and he didn’t have that not smile on his face anymore. “You imply he is less than? He will be more than you can ever imagine.”

“You can’t just take our son.”

Harry had crouched down and looked at Eggsy. “Eggsy, would you like to move to the castle? Learn how to control what is in you, so that eventually you can help everyone?”

“Da always says to help our neighbours.”

“I didn’t mean -”

“Eggsy, come with me,” Harry had held out his hand, and it had been the king's symbol, given only in great promise. But Eggsy hadn’t said yes. Because a promise from a king was neat, but not bring a whole building back neat.

“Will he be there too?” Eggsy had asked and his gaze flicked to Merlin.

“Yes, he will be there too,” Harry had promised.

Eggsy had gone and hugged his parents. “I’m going to help people, like you Da!” He hadn’t really noticed how Merlin had stood between his parents and the king, how tense it all was. He had remembered taking the fob, and Harry guiding them back down and into a carriage that he had only seen from on top of his Da’s shoulders at royal parades. He looked around. “Where’s the magic man?”

“Merlin? He is settling accounts with your parents.”

“But he lives at the castle too? I will see him again?”

“Yes, Eggsy. He is his my right hand man. And as my heir he will be yours too.”

“What if I make the castle disappear?”

“He’ll bring it back.” Harry had tapped the wall of the carriage and they were off. Eggsy had heard a bird give a cry, like a falcon on the hunt. He had stuck his head out the carriage.

“That’s him. Your spellcaster.” His eyes had followed the bird in the night sky.

“How can you be sure?” Harry had sounded curious. “It could just be any bird.”

“He’s glowing,” Eggsy had smiled dreamily.

“No, the bird looks like any other in the night.”

But he had seen the man’s magic, the silver ring that had wreathed him. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he could see it around the bird. “That’s him,” Eggsy had replied. He curled up next to his new puppy and had fallen asleep.

*****************

“Merlin?” Eggsy was practicing his forms. Short sword in left hand, magic ready in the right. He spun in the steps that Merlin had first taught him when he was fourteen. They moved back and forth in the practice hall, a decade of familiarity.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Eggsy sighed. A million times he had told Merlin, to call him Eggsy. All he ever wanted was Merlin to call him Eggsy. But Merlin was always formal with the heir to the throne. He wasn’t like that with Harry, there it was _ you bastard why are you making my life more difficult _ , and _ Harry don’t _ , and _ Just sit on your throne and rule you git. _

Eggsy spun when Merlin struck out, and he shot some ice at the man, which wasn’t a part of their forms, but he had to have some fun. “I wish to go out today.”

“You have a busy schedule on tap.”

“Can a window be found? I can smell the vialalis blooming, and I need them for a potion I am devising.”

“An interesting ingredient, what sort of potion?”

“I don’t want to say, just in case it is a spectacular failure.”

“Very well, and I am sorry, but the king wants you at his side. Today you will be lead on the conversation with the diplomatic envoys from the east.”

“Not even an hour?”

“I am sorry, Your Highness,” Merlin smiled, and with a spin made the floor like ice, and Eggsy went crashing into a wall. “And I apologize for that as well.”

A decade of training, and he never got the drop on Merlin. He could see that perfect silver ring around the man as he reached down. The ice was gone, and his hand was warm as he lifted Eggsy up. Eggsy relished the touch, catalogued in his mind, as he did every encounter with Merlin. They were together almost daily. Merlin had been his tutor, his confidant, his everything since he had arrived at the palace. He had worshiped the man as a child, hated him during puberty, and then they had been almost friends. And in the last few years, Eggsy had loved him. Not with the child’s worship, or the youthful confusion, but with an adult heart, full, and longing. And he knew it would never matter, to Merlin he was still that 7 year old that had made a building go missing.

Every touch, every soft glance hurt.

Eggsy welcomed every drop of pain.

“What’s the conversation about?” Eggsy asked, and poured water for himself and Merlin.

“Trade, borders.” Merlin gave him a look that Eggsy did not like. “They have a young and beautiful queen.”

“Is Harry going to wed?” Eggsy frowned. “He always swore to be single. That there was a prophecy and blah blah, complete bullshit that hides the fact that he just likes being alone.”

“Not, for Harry, Your Highness.”

“Oh. Then for who?” Eggsy was lost.

“For you, Your Highness. The ball in a week, is your official launch.”

Eggsy paled. “My what now?”

“You turn twenty five, Your Highness, in a week. It is not just a birthday ball, but announcing your intentions to wed.”

For a moment Eggsy couldn’t control his magic, and the room they were in almost flickered out of existence, but Merlin glowed and everything stabilized. “Merlin, I’m not getting married.” Eggsy ached. “Tell me he hasn’t arranged anything.”

“No, this is just...showing you options around you,” Merlin explained. “He wants you happy, and he wants grandchildren.”

“Then he should have had a kid,” Eggsy snapped. He stormed off.

“Manners, Your Highness,” Merlin called sharply.

Eggsy turned, and gave a head tilt. “Excuse me,” he said and he hated the bow that Merlin gave him. 

“Until dinner, Your Highness,” Merlin replied, and began to clean up the training room.

Usually Eggsy helped with that, but he needed to talk to Harry. He strode through the palace making his way to the meeting rooms. He stormed in, and saw Harry talking to a few people. “Harry, I’m not bloody marrying some queen I’ve never met. I’m not marrying anyone, or proposing or get betrothed or nothing.” He slammed his hands down on the table. “It isn’t happening, no matter how pretty she is rumoured to be.”

“I am rumoured to be pretty? That is good to hear.”

Harry was giving him a death glare, and Eggsy turned to the woman sitting at the table. She was attractive, small, and in armor. Her aura didn’t have that extra shimmer, of magic - but radiated her warrior queen status. “You’d have rather I heard, though, about your prowess with a sword.”

She smiled. “I would. Roxy.”

“Eggsy.” Harry coughed. “Umm, Your Majesty, a pleasure,” Eggsy tried to course correct from their start. He was a little nervous at the way she was looking at him. “I thought diplomats were being sent?”

“Never send someone else to get the first impression of a kingdom we might trade with. I trust my own eyes and heart.” She was seeing into him in a way he did not like. “You should trust your heart more.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, this was a bracing introduction,” Harry said politely. “Perhaps we should continue.”

“No, you are old and will die sooner or later. He’s going to be the one I’ll be dealing with. So let’s deal.”

“While his training is -”

“Yeah,” Eggsy sat down across from her. “What you got?”

“Mines, the strongest crystals for spellcasting, and waters from the mountains, that fairies still dance in, pure, clean, your potions will be much stronger, last longer on your shelves.” Her smile was sharper than the blade he knew was under her sleeve. “What can you offer us?”

“Sheep, we have the softest wool of anywhere. Our weavers are second to none. We can offer textiles, and flowers for your apothecaries. A give and take, we strengthen each other with these exchanges. Our wool keeps your people in the mines warm, and their crystals help us with our magic.”

“It has potential.” She looked to the man standing behind her. “Your thoughts?”

He looked at Harry and at Eggsy. “My thoughts are you were rude to cut out the king thusly, and may have ruined everything with your eternal brashness.” He was watching Harry. “I remember well that he is not a man to trifle with.”

“You do?”

“We met on a battlefield once, Your Majesty. You and your spellcaster. My army fared poorly.”

“We have not warred with your nation,” Harry was frantically thinking. “The last war I fought, the only war I fought was...ohhh. You lead Chester’s army.”

“I did,” he said. “Not by choice. But they were still my men, and they were slaughtered.”

“Percival, you looked me in the eye. I remember that.” Harry smiled. “You were brave. And now you advise Queen Roxanne.”

“To my great pleasure.”

“This is an interesting turn,” Harry looked around the table. “I look forward to the next week. And perhaps, Eggsy, your first dance at the ball would be well met with the Queen.”

“No,” Eggsy said and left the room, ignoring Harry’s calls. It was too much, something was changing, maybe everything, and it wasn’t changing in a way he liked or even understood. Harry was plotting. He had spent years sheltering Eggsy, on Eggsy’s training and now all of a sudden he was pushing him out into the world. Meeting queens that he supposed were of an age, that would make good alliances.

He didn’t care. He’d never marry. Merlin never would marry, so he’d never marry.

Eggsy went to the woods and collected the flowers that he needed for the potion he was working on. It was a difficult and delicate idea, one pieced together from a dozen ancient sources and requiring more out of him than he was used to - he was a spellcaster like Merlin, not a potion smith. But he wouldn’t trust this to anyone’s hands but his.

He gathered the flowers and a slow swirl of hand had them disappearing to his workroom in the castle. Eggsy gathered a few other things on his walk, and stopped at a fairy ring. He bowed low and wished them well before carrying on the way. Fairies were few enough in this kingdom, their wolves making it unappealing for most, but Merlin had always taught him to respect the ones that braved their lands. He saw eyes staring out at him from a den, and gave a nod of respect. The wolf was on their crest, and Harry was one of them.

Eggsy made his way to his workrooms, and he wasn’t surprised to find Harry in there and poking at the potion apparatus. “Did I completely ruin the trade agreements with the queen?”

“On the contrary, she is quite taken with you, and will indeed be staying for the ball. She looks forward to knowing you better. Queen Roxanne is an admirable woman.” Harry spun an astrolobe about. “It would be a good match.”

“Since when do you care about that?”

“Since I blinked, and realized you were turning 25. Eggsy, yesterday you still had spots and were lamenting that you weren’t going to be as tall as me, as if I was your sire.” Harry smiled at him. “My boy, when did you grow up?”

“A while ago, Harry. You just have been busy ruling.”

“And I have been a poor one.”

“Harry, our kingdom thrives, the people adore you, how the fuck have you been a poor ruler?” Eggsy lit a small brazier, and put the flowers in with water and a few other things to boil. “Harry, you are brilliant.”

“In many things, but I have kept you too sheltered, Eggsy. I have had you pattern myself, my preferences. I never wanted you to live without love, without companionship beside you.”

“Harry, you have loved me, in your way. Merlin has given me everything. The whole keep has taken care of me. Harry I’m loved.”

“But you need someone beside you," Harry repeated, "There are no prophecies concerning your rule. I want you to consider marrying. The ball will have many people at it. From our own nation and those surrounding us. I do not expect you to magically announce you have found your true love and are engaged. I just want you to...see the world around you more. Beyond your studies and preparation for rule.”

“Harry -” Eggsy wanted to tell Harry how he felt about Merlin. But he had no idea how Harry would react to that. He didn’t think cruelly, but if Harry was worried that Eggsy was too sheltered, he would attribute Eggsy’s feelings to that. That his heart would find another when it was given a chance to know more people. Harry wouldn’t believe him that it wouldn’t matter, that the only love he would ever hold would be for Merlin. “I could use some blood of the wolf for the potion I am working on.”

“Then go find a wolf and take it from him.”

Eggsy smiled at Harry. “Please, Harry?” 

Harry sighed, and rolled up his cuff, “On the condition that you have tea with the Queen, tomorrow.”

“Fair, she seemed interesting.”

“I’ll take interesting,” Harry sounded almost eager, and Eggsy sliced his arm and added blood to the flowers.

******

“This is a lovely tea service,” Roxy said, and Eggsy looked at it. 

“Yeah, all nice in the flower garden and stuff…” Eggsy’s eye drifted. Merlin was walking through the garden, a bucket in hand. “You, uh, have unicorns still in your woods?”

“No, they do not like our mountains. Dragons, though.”

“Oh wicked. Seen paintings but never the real. Can’t imagine how terrifying that would be.”

“Fairly terrifying, but I had to protect my people, and it had gone mad. Usually they keep to their space and us ours. But it was attacking farms. So I lead the charge.”

“Who, with the what now?” Eggsy for a moment forgot Merlin who was going to feed the unicorns, his favourite thing to watch. “You fought a dragon?”

“Well, myself and a dozen of my best men.”

“But you lead them. Even though you are -”

“Yes?”

Eggsy looked at her. “Not a warrior; you don’t use a sword. I can’t see metal like that in your aura.” He looked at the blue green that ringed around her. “Bow?”

“Yes,” Roxy agreed. “My warriors wore it down, my shot to its eye ended it. You can see my aura?”

“Can see everyone as they truly are.”

“Now that is intriguing. What do you see in me?”

Eggsy looked at her. “Think of the thing that makes you happiest. I mean truly, utterly content. The thing that if it wasn’t in the world, you would just be less.” He watched her aura flare. “Well shit, Harry doesn’t have a hope of marrying me off to you - you are already in love.”

Roxy looked at him. “I am, though for the sake of the kingdom I would enter a political marriage. My love understands. She is incredible.”

“I cannot do that,” Eggsy said. “No amount of understanding from a partner would help me. I’m not…” He laughed a little. “I’m not royal enough, for arrangements and understandings. You will rule well Roxy. You have a fierce mind and a fiercer heart. Mind your need to control, to be the best. Trust those around you, and you’ll be sung of in songs for centuries.”

“I feel I should cross your palm with silver.”

“Not necessary,” Eggsy began. “Wait, do you have silver from your mountains?”

Roxy took off a bracelet she was wearing. Eggsy took it and was examining it, when Merlin started the call. “What is that, it is beautiful?” she asked, looking around.

“That’s Merlin, the nation’s magic. He is calling to the unicorns, to feed them.”

“Can we watch?”

“Of course,” Eggsy agreed, and followed a path he had trod many times. They left the well tended garden, each step taking them slowly into the wilds, until the reached a small open area. Merlin stood in the middle of it, calling. It was somewhere between chant and song, a perfect happy sadness you could never explain, but never forget. He emptied the bucket in a slow circle around him, and slid off his clothes. Stood there, naked, vulnerable, to show the unicorns they would receive no harm.

“Well,” Roxy said faintly.

“Yeah,” Eggsy agreed. He remembered the first time he had seen this, that it was the first time he had truly understood Merlin was human, just as frail as anyone else. He had always seemed so impossibly strong. It had been years before watching Merlin like this appealed to him in a different way, made him hunger as he did now. But god, he hungered. “It’s a sight isn’t it?”

“Will the unicorns mind us, do we have to get naked?”

He laughed at how she was ready to drop it all right then and there, to see them. “No, there is a line just a little ahead of us. Cross that and we would have to, but this distance is fine. But quiet is good.” Eggsy watched as Merlin finished the chant, and then knelt in the circle, at ease in his own skin.

Eggsy had done this a few times, when Merlin had been busy or traveling. It happened once a month. He dreamed of being next to him for it, their magic combined and calling to the creatures. 

Slowly the first unicorn entered the clearing, and then the others. There were half a dozen this day, about 50 or so in the nation total. One carried claw marks on its flank and Eggsy made a mournful noise, sent his magic into the clearing. The creature looked at him, as it was wrapped in Eggsy’s love as the scars disappeared. Roxy reached out and took his hand, and Eggsy squeezed it. Her fingers were rough from work, he liked that. Merlin stayed kneeling in the grass as the unicorns came and ate the circle of food he had spread out. He smiled when one bumped his shoulder and he turned his head, cupped the horses face. Soon the unicorns were jostling to poke at Merlin, knocked him over.

Merlin laughed, and Eggsy fell in love all over again, as he always did when he watched this.

“They are playing with him.”

“Yeah, they are sort of his babies,” Eggsy whispered back. “Come on,” he said, and pulled her away.

“I don’t need to see your aura to see that you love him. It’s in your eyes. Why is the king so interested in your meeting people, if you’ve already found someone?” 

“It’s complicated, and the biggest complication is that he doesn’t know I love Merlin. Been sort of keeping that a secret for years.”

“Ahh.”

“What’s that mean?”

“We don’t know each other well enough for me to say more than Ahh.”

“We been saying plenty,” Eggsy replied, and scowled a bit. “Look. I love Merlin. So much, I can’t even say how much it is. But he don’t see me as anything more than his student, his charge. He raised me, and sees me as a child. And Harry would be sure it is because haven’t had a lot of chances to meet people. And there are no prophecies and me and my heirs like there were about Harry and me. I just...fuck if I know.”

“Have you asked?”

“Asked?”

“Well, we don’t do oracles and prophecies much back home, we make our own fate. But could you, consult?”

Eggsy hadn’t thought about that before. “It carries a high cost, going to the oracle. But the king is supposed to do it once. I’m just not king yet. I’ll do it when the time is right?”

“Who says when the time is right, except for you?” Roxy smiled at him. “I need to go read contracts. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Eggsy said. 

He found himself walking to the training room, and picked up his sword. His forms were always a comfort when his brain was firing too quickly. He couldn’t see him, but could feel when Merlin came into the room, and settled in beside him. They moved through their paces, switched to daggers and moved as if in a dance. They faced each other, moved back and forth across the room, spinning in a slow circle. It was a dance. “Bloody hell, Merlin you reminding me how to waltz right now?”

“It was suggested that I aid you in that practice. Harry is worried you might not be fleet of foot. I assured him that if you stepped on anyone, it would be a deliberate choice, not an error.” Merlin changed the pace a bit, and Eggsy pressed forward, taking the lead. It was a dance where you challenged your partner. A dare. The moved around the room, both their hands behind their backs as they pressed back and forth. “Good,” Merlin said when it was done.

They put the weapons away. “You were with the queen,” Merlin commented.

“I think she and I are going to be friends,” Eggsy said. “I like her.”

“Harry will be happy. The reports on her speak of bravery and cleverness. She is almost worthy of you.”

“Nah, she’s a way better person than me, easy to see on her.”

“Colour?”

“A blueish green, the sea refreshed from a storm.” Eggsy looked at Merlin. “She made me think a thing. It might be a dangerous thought.”

“No thought is dangerous until it is spoken out loud, until a heart commits to it.”

“I think my heart is committed.”

“Think?”

Eggsy took a deep breath. “I know.” He went to the window. “Merlin, Harry is changing everything. This ball, it will change everything.”

“It will,” Merlin agreed. “This is your official moment of acknowledgement. You will be declared the future king to the world. A thing that is known, but the time has come for you to step forward.”

“I want to go to the oracle,” Eggsy said. “Before the ball.”

“A king, not a prince, goes to the oracle.”

“Always?”

“There have been a couple instances of difference. Your Highness, it requires specific preparation, and a high cost. I do not wish you to pay it before you are ready.”

Eggsy looked at him. “I am ready, Merlin.”

He wondered what Merlin was seeing, when he stared like that. “The day after tomorrow,” Merlin said finally after an endless pause. “There are things we will have to do, rituals that I must prepare before we go.”

“Merlin, where is the oracle, Harry has never said.”

“He doesn’t know, I will take you. Just as I took him.” Merlin gave him a formal bow. “Your Highness. Prepare yourself.”

Eggsy didn’t see Merlin the rest of that day, or the next. Harry had been told though and he desperately tried to convince Eggsy not to do this, to wait until he was older, closer to the throne, if not on it. But he could not be shaken from the path. He was sure that now was the right time.

He couldn’t eat dinner that night, and retired to his room. When he arrived, Merlin was in his chambers, and servants were preparing a bath. They left and Merlin poured things into the tub. They smelled like heaven. Sweet but not cloying. And when he breathed deeply, he could smell the rot that would come to them, that came for everything. 

“Had a bath this morning,” Eggsy said. He stood there awkwardly.

“This is a different sort of bath. Eggsy have you read the accounts of going to the oracle?”

“Of course, and heard the songs of the king wot four back? Every child knows that song.”

“And have you read the preparations required to go to the oracle, done by the royal spellcaster?”

“Oh, well...no.”

Merlin turned to him. “Well, this will be interesting then. Strip.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Do you go clothed into the bath?”

“No, but…” Eggsy couldn’t strip in front of Merlin. He’d get hard, he’d be too exposed, and not just physically. “Just need to get in the water, i can do that alone.”

“Not this bath, not this preparation,” Merlin’s voice was solemn and the silver that surrounded him, darker than usual. A sad colour. “Please,” he requested.

Eggsy took off his clothes, hesitating at his pants, but they came off as well.

“To me, lad,” Merlin whispered. A flick from his hand, and a hundred candles around the room lit. He went to one on the mantle and picked it up. He tilted it and the liquid wax poured into his hand. He flinched a bit but when Eggsy went forward a shake of his head stopped him. More wax poured into Merlin’s hand and Eggsy bit his lip that Merlin was hurting, that he couldn’t stop it. Once a good bit was in his hand, Merlin returned the candle to the mantle and his hands began to glow, and the wax was manipulated between them. The small ball grew and stretched. He had seen candy do that at a summer fair once. A break in his studies as a child. Merlin came over and pressed the wax to Eggsy’s heart.

“Breathe slowly and steadily,” Merlin said. “Match my breath Eggsy. This will be brief.” Eggsy matched Merlin’s breath as the wax grew to encase his body. He would have panicked when it covered his mouth but he kept watching Merlin’s eyes, the glow of them. When the wax covered him completely, when he couldn’t breathe, he stayed calm, knowing Merlin was just there, that he would never hurt Eggsy. A moment later the wax just vanished. The smell from the tub was closer to rotten now, but when Merlin gestured, Eggsy went into the hot water. 

It felt good, though the smell was making him dizzy. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes. “What the stories never say, that Harry has never properly said, is what this costs. What will it cost me Merlin?”

“Some say the thing you most dread to lose, some say something you should have lost long ago.” Merlin had soap in his hands now, and began to wash Eggsy.

It was the first time Merlin had touched his bare skin that hadn’t been attending to an injury. The room was dark enough, the water deep enough that Merlin couldn’t see how Eggsy was reacting, and the flush on his cheeks could be dismissed as the heat of the bath, the nerves of what was to come. Eggsy looked beyond Merlin for a moment and thought he saw himself standing in a corner, but in a blink it was gone again. 

Nothing had ever felt better in his life than Merlin washing his hair, those long fingers massaging his scalp. Eggsy was beginning to feel a bit more woozy. And he was sitting in the chair he did to put on stockings.

No, that wasn’t right, he was in the bath, Merlin was touching him. Perfect touches that were now on his neck. Those fingers urged him down, and Eggsy sunk under the water. It was almost too hot all the way under, when the water should have started to cool. When he tried to push up, Merlin’s hands kept him under. Eggsy opened his eyes in a panic and began to flail, tried to rise, but Merlin was stronger than him. Was also using a bit of a magic push to keep him down.

Eggsy felt his magic flare, and knew that the tub was fading around him, that he could make it disappear. He saw himself leaning over the tub, watching. Waiting.

The wax.

Merlin.

Merlin, who might not love him, but who would never hurt him.

Eggsy controlled his magic, and calmed himself. He closed his eyes and floated. When he opened them again, he was somewhere else, looking at himself. “Hello,” he said.

“You weren’t supposed to do this, yet. Not for another ten years.”

“Is that when Harry dies?”

“No, that is not the question you are here to ask. That is not the answer we are here to give.”

Eggsy wondered if that was what his voice really sounded like. It was like looking at the truest mirror everyone. “Do I ask a question, or do you just give the prophecy? It’s all sort of vague.”

“It depends. What do you want Eggsy?”

“What is the cost?”

“Don’t worry about the cost,” he told himself. The image moved, and Eggsy moved with it. Until they were dancing. “You will be beautiful at the ball.” The waltz spun them around a room, that looked like nothing he had ever seen before, he couldn’t even describe it. But it was the colour of Merlin’s aura. “Nervous, terrified, but beautiful. And there? At that ball, you will make a choice.”

“Make choices every day.”

“This will not be an every day sort of choice.” Eggsy spun himself out, and brought him back. “This will be an everything choice.”

“My only everything is him,” Eggsy said. He stopped dancing. “I’ll pay whatever cost I have to, so long as the cost isn’t him.”

“We have seen the rulers of this land since it first was given to rule. Only three others have had your heart, Eggsy. We give this information free of charge.” The wax form stepped away from him, and bowed. “You are scared, you hide it in every single breath. Scared of ruling, scared of your magic, scared of disappointing, scared of the love you carry.”

“I’m scared of everything but that,” Eggsy countered.

“If you weren’t so scared, you would see. We tell you this, you have to choose not to be blind. The ball, that is your last chance to open your eyes. After that they will stay forever closed to a truth you have hidden from.” The form came closer, and covered his eyes, pushed him into dark. “Open your eyes, Eggsy, and you will see everything. Keep them closed and be half the man you could be, never be who you truly could be. Open your eyes.”

“Open your eyes, Your Highness,” Merlin was begging. 

Eggsy could feel healing magic pouring into him, and he cut it off. “I’m fine,” he said and began to choke; he coughed up all the water that filled his lungs. “You could have warned me.”

“No, I could not, then you would have prepared, and not gotten to the place in your mind you needed to go.”

“The oracle isn’t actually a place is it?”

“No, it is a state, brought on by the court spellcaster.” Merlin was cupping his cheek. “My apologies for harming you, Your Highness.”

“It’s fine,” Eggsy promised. He shuddered a bit. “Cold.”

“Let us fix that.” He pulled Eggsy up and the tub was full again, with fresh water, that smelled of citrus and spring. Eggsy let Merlin ease him into the tub, realized that he had been naked all this time. “How was it?”

“Not as specific or long as what Harry got?” Eggsy frowned. “I think I got what I paid for.”

“And what was the cost?”

“They said...I said, it was no cost. Don’t quite get why, it all feels so disjointed. But there was information in there.”

“You went before your time, you changed your future Eggsy. Few hold their fate in their hands the way you do.”

“Merlin, would you consider me unobservant?”

“Not more than any man in his twenties, and far more than most.”

Eggsy caught something in Merlin’s face though, but he couldn’t figure out what. A brief look, that he had never seen, but had a feeling he should have. He closed his eyes and then opened them. He watched Merlin. Who was standing there, in wait for whatever Eggsy would need after what he had gone through. “Could you, wash my hair again?” Eggsy asked.

“Of course,” Merlin agreed.

Eggsy sank into the touch. This time the hand on his neck massaged, and didn’t push down. Eggsy was safe, he had always been safe, but he knew what they had done, couldn’t happen again. Maybe he had wasted his chance with the oracle. Maybe he hadn’t. That only time would tell. “Merlin?”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“I’m really fucking terrified of this ball.”

“You don’t have to wear stupid robes.”

That immediately distracted Eggsy. “Wait, are you actually wearing them?” He had seen Merlin more in armor, in leather, than he had in the official royal spellcaster robes.

“Harry has made it clear that this is a formal event, a momentous occasion, and that the robes that I tried to hide in a box in the deepest lake in our nation have in fact been recovered, and I am to wear them for your ball.”

“I cannot wait.” It was true. He had seen the one portrait that had Merlin in the robes, from a couple decades ago, and he looked amazing in them. They were the silver of his aura, an impossible fabric, conjured from a dream. Merlin looked almost otherworldly in them. He looked like what his position was, versus how most often he looked like a soldier. “What am I wearing?”

“Your royal uniform.”

“I look like a tit in that.”

“Then we will at least match,” Merlin said. He poured a bit of water over Eggsy’s hair. “There, the last of the magic is off of you. Are you staying in the water longer?”

“No, I’m worn down,” Eggsy said. He stood up, and Merlin was holding out a robe for him. Merlin’s eyes were on his face, never looked at his body. Eggsy turned, and let Merlin slide the robe on him. It was warm and soft. New, he realized. “Thank you,” he said and rubbed his cheek against the shoulder. “Really soft.”

“Aye,” Merlin agreed. “An early birthday gift.”

Eggsy smiled a bit. Merlin always got him three things, something of comfort, something to protect, and something magic. He figured this was the comfort. “Thank you.” He went to his bed, and was loathe to take the robe off yet. He didn’t get under the covers but sat on top. “Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“Will I be a good king?”

“I have spent a lot of time training you to be. You have generally been an apt student.”

“No, don’t. Please.” Eggsy looked at him. “I need...in this moment, please, speak from your heart.”

“It is the only way I have ever spoken to you, Your Highness. And I think you will be a very kind, generous, and just king. You need rest. I will cancel your morning appointments.”

“Not our training.”

“You have not needed the practice for years.”

“I could not start my day without you.”

“Then I will see you in morning. Rest, Your Highness.” Merlin had that look on his face again. There and gone. Eggsy wondered just how many looks he had missed. What they meant.

Open your eyes, he had told himself.

He slid down the bed and closed them tight.

*********

“So this is a spellcaster’s lab,” Roxy looked around the space, and Eggsy kept working. The potion was at a delicate stage of mixing. He got this wrong, the whole thing was ruined. “Interesting.”

“Don’t poke that,” Eggsy said as she went to what looked like a blanket on a chair. “He’s getting old, gets grumpy when woken up.”

“What?”

“That’s not a blanket, a creature. Not quite sure what. He just showed up in my lab and has never left.” Eggsy put in three drops of heartbreak tears. He had been able to collect those when he was 18, and saw Merlin kissing another man. “Not sure he’s even from this planet. Sometimes magic sucks in odd things.”

“Everyone says potions are not your gift.”

“No, have basic knowledge but object manipulation is my field,” Eggsy replied. “Merlin is a true spellcaster, I’m more...it’s hard to explain.” The potion needed a moment to turn purple. He picked up a weight on his desk. He held it in his hand and focused. The weight became a dagger, and then disappeared entirely. He closed his hand and stirred the potion three times anti-clockwise. He held out a hand and the dagger dropped back into the world, and by the time he put it on the table it was back to a weight. “I can do basics, fire, ice, call to animals. But making things different, making them gone, that is what i can do.”

“How big?”

“Made a whole building and all the people in it disappear when I was seven, and it was gone gone. Merlin had to bring it back.” He added Harry’s blood to the potion.

“Is that when you fell in love?”

“I was seven, Roxy, and had made my parents disappear, and became heir to the throne. I was in awe of him. Then I was frustrated by him. Then friends, then...then.” He added the barest sliver from the metal Roxy had given him. If he had made this right, that silver would change the potion from purple to gold, then to the colour of the aura the person it was meant for. “Come on, come on,” he begged.

Roxy leaned over to watch. “That looks like moonlight from a dream,” she said. “What will the potion do?”

“Be a dream,” Eggsy said. He closed his eyes and wished, with all his heart. He poured his magic into it, chanted a bit, and the potion felt...right. He couldn’t explain it, just he knew he had a window where it would do what he wanted it to. “Back in a minute. Don’t touch anything.” Eggsy poured the potion into a vial and ran. He thought Merlin would be in his space and ran up to the tallest tower, and barely knocked before he was in the room.

Merlin was shirtless, and painting his body.

“What are you doing? I don’t recognize those symbols,” Eggsy forgot his task for a moment. “They are...not Banedari, nor Celraith.”

“No, something else. Harry wanted the strongest protections on the castle for your party. Just giving the wards an extra push. Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

“Why, because it is bad magic?”

“No magic is bad, only the user,” Merlin reminded him. “It is just meant for someone who has...seen more than they should have of magic. And someone who serves and will not rule.”

“Oh,” Eggsy reached out and almost touched, but didn’t. “I finished my potion.”

“Did you? Are you ready to explain it. You’ve never cared much for potion work.”

“This was different. Found it in an old diary. From the first Merlin. He gave it to the king. And I’m giving it to you. Have to drink it now though yeah? It loses potency right quick.” Eggsy handed him the vial, and blinked in shock when Merlin drank it without asking anymore details. “What if I just killed you?”

“Then, I die,” Merlin shrugged, and continued painting himself. “There we go. It tasted like a fruit I haven’t had since childhood.”

“It is sort of tied to childhood? Or a lie that we are told then.”

“What lie?”

“That a wish on a shooting star will come true,” Eggsy looked at him. “That potion? Your next wish on a star will come true, if it is a good wish, a true wish. That or you know you’ll just crap purple for a few days - I am rubbish at potions.” Eggsy bit his lip. “I just figure, you gave everything to me, I could give one thing to you. One wish.”

“A very kind gift,” Merlin said, and bowed to him. “I thank you, Your Highness. And think that this is a good time to give you your second birthday gift.”

“You gave me my comfort item, and with how you are painting yourself up, betting you give me my protection item?” Eggsy teased. “You going to paint me too?”

“No,” Merlin handed him a box. “The signet ring Harry gave you when you were 21. I warded it with extra power, and with captured lightning. Anyone at the party makes you uncomfortable, you can fill them with lightning.”

“Almost everyone is going to make me uncomfortable.”

“If anyone is too forward, is what I meant,” Merlin said.

“Merlin, I’ve never even been bloody kissed thanks to being busy with your training, and Harry’s sheltering. Maybe a little forward wouldn't be the worst thing.”

“I remember you smiling for the one stable hand.”

“Yeah, and when I leaned into to try kiss him he ran away, terrified Harry would eat him or something.”

“Harry hasn’t eaten anyone in decades,” Merlin dismissed.

“Funny blokes don’t take a lot of comfort in that.”

“And women? They tend to be braver.”

“They are pretty, but never met one that made me want to kiss them,” Eggsy shrugged. 

“Perhaps at the ball,” Merlin suggested. “But Your Highness, I must ask you to leave. I need to continue painting and I hardly think you want to watch me paint my cock.”

Eggsy really, really would like to watch that, but he understood the dismissal. “Wish well, when the time is right Merlin.”

“You should have brewed it for yourself, you deserve a dream come true.”

“I’m a poor boy, who would have died young in toil and pain, and I was made a prince. Think I’ve gotten all the wish I could.” Eggsy gave him a smile and went back to his workrooms. He went and sat at the bench, and pressed his hands to his eyes.

“Are you well?” Roxy asked.

“I...gave him the power to find happiness. And that will never include me.” Eggsy’s palms pressed in as hard as they good. “I just want him to be happy.” He felt her come over, and her hug was soft, the lips that kissed his forehead gentle.

“Oh, but you are going to be an amazing king.”

“Yipee. I may have just broken my own heart, but hey one day, I’ll be good with the crown on my head.”

She kissed him again. “Maybe, you didn’t break your heart. Maybe his happiness is a really great dog.”

Eggsy laughed at that. “Will you dance with me at this stupid ball?”

“I will.”

“Will our kingdoms prosper together?”

“They will,” Roxy promised.

“Will you marry your girl, and be happy?”

“I don’t know if -”

“No, do it. Marry, be happy.”

“Don’t wish for everyone else’s happiness, and leave no room for yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” Eggsy smiled at her. “Let me take you down to tea.” He wanted to be done with this conversation.

“Open your eyes, Eggsy.”

“Why did you say that?”

Roxy frowned. “I am not sure. I just had to.”

Eggsy nodded slowly. “I’ll try,” he promised. “I’ll try.”

*******

“My boy, you look…”

“Like a fool,” Eggsy tugged at the royal uniform a bit. It felt absurd.

“Like a future king. Do you know what I see Eggsy?”

“No.” Eggsy brushed at the fabric, the sash. 

“Open your eyes.”

Eggsy glanced up, and met Harry’s gaze in the mirror. “Sir?”

“You are so busy not seeing yourself, you do not see how others see you. I see a good man, with a keen intellect, incredible magic, and a true heart. You care for our people, the staff sing nothing but praise for you, Merlin regularly threatens to kill me off, just to be to put you on the throne so that a sensible ruler is in place.”

“He does not,” Eggsy stared at Harry in shock. “He is always telling me I have a lot to learn.”

“Because he believes all people, always have a lot to learn. I had a food taster for a month, after that wee problem with the ghost pirates; he was very annoyed.”

“Do you know how much magic it took to stop the pirates you raised from the dead?” Eggsy took a breath. “No, we are not getting into that tonight. Harry, I’ll never be the man you are.”

“No, and I thank the heavens for that almost daily. You’ll be far better than I. Even more so when you have someone beside you, to lean on, to listen to you, aid you.”

Eggsy had that, he had Merlin - but he knew Harry meant marriage. “It wasn’t for you, maybe its not for me either.”

“When you dream of your future, are you up on the royal dias alone?” 

No, Merlin was there beside him. “No,” Eggsy admitted, but would not say more.

“Keep your mind and eyes open at the ball, Eggsy. You will not fall in love in an instant, but perhaps someone will intrigue. Please, keep yourself open?”

Eggsy thought of the oracle, everything changed tonight, if he didn’t let it, things would be bad. “I will, Harry. Who is my first dance with?”

“That is for you to decide,” Harry said. “But it will set the tone for the whole night.”

“No pressure though.”

“You are ready for this,” Harry promised. “Anyone who charges into the oracle as you did, is ready for a party.”

“Meeting fate, a hell of a lot easier than dancing in front of a few hundred people.”

“The trick is to think of the room empty, except for the one you are dancing with.” 

There was a knock at the door, and a servant came in. “It is time, Your Majesty, Your Highness.”

“Thank you,” Harry said.

Eggsy walked beside him down the long hall to the ballroom. He swore that it grew twice the length from what it usually was. Their steps echoed until the murmur from the ballroom swallowed it up. They entered and stood at the top of the stairs as they were announced. All the people in the room bowed and curtsied. Eggsy could see Roxy, and even after a few days it was so odd so see her in a dress. He sort of thought she’d be in a uniform. But she looked pretty.

There were many elegant women, and dashing men that they passed as they went to their seats. Eggsy couldn’t see Merlin though. He had to be there, he wouldn’t be anywhere else, but he couldn’t see him. People came to them, and the crier listed titles and names that after a bit started to blend in Egggy’s mind - the colours of all the auras was dizzying to him - overwhelmed. A servant brought him a glass of water and he drained every drop. 

After an hour the parade of people stopped, and Harry stood. A hush fell over the room.

“There was a prophecy once, about the heir I did not have yet. I was far too modern, prophecies were balderdash.” The room laughed. “And then it, to my eternal joy, came true. I was brought to Eggsy, and he became my heir. And now on the eve of his 25th birthday, I formally declare him to the world as the future ruler of our land. When the time comes, may he rule with the kindness, generosity, and loyalty that reside in his heart. My boy, I am not your father, but no man could ever be prouder of whom you have become. I formally introduce to you His Royal Highness Eggsy Unwin Hart, future ruler of our Ki'nman.”

There was a shout and applause, and Eggsy stood and bowed to the room. Harry nodded to him, and Eggsy stepped forward.

“His Highness will now open this celebration, by dancing with a partner of his choice,” the crier declared.

The crowds moved, and Eggsy made his way to the middle of the dance floor. He looked slowly around. Spun in a circle. He knew there was no misstep, he could choose any person there that he saw. But the faces were all a blur, their auras blending together. He could see Roxy and she stepped forward a bit, ready to help him out. He appreciated that, but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.

The whole ballroom began to fade around him, everyone thinner, and he saw a silver ring move through the people. They all snapped back into focus, the room solidified, and Merlin stepped forward onto the dance floor. 

He was in his spellcaster robes, the fabric shining in tandem with his aura, like starlight trapped. He bowed low and then stood. He moved forward and Eggsy was lost in his eyes.

“May I have this dance?” Eggsy asked.

“You may,” Merlin replied. They stayed there watching each other, and Eggsy couldn’t figure out what they were waiting for. “It is time for you to lead, Your Highness.”

Oh. He could do that. Eggsy stepped forward and Merlin stepped back and Eggsy smiled. It was not a waltz, it was the challenge dance. Eggsy stepped forward again, and then Merlin was in his space and spun away. They moved around the dance floor, quicker and quicker, the medals on Eggsy’s chest shining in the light, Merlin’s aura brighter than Eggsy had ever seen. They patterned each other and moved in sync and at the end, the lead is to reach out and the partner has a choice to be caught or move away.

Eggsy reached out, and then Merlin was caught, flush against him. They stared at each other, their breath sharing the same space as the music ended, and the crowd cheered their approval of the old dance. Merlin stepped back, gave a deep bow again, walked away through the crowds that now filled the dance floor. Eggsy could see him going to Harry.

“Oh, you are definitely dancing with me now,” Roxy said tapping on Eggsy shoulder.

“I would be happy to,” Eggsy said and swept her into a waltz. He found himself dancing until his feet were tired, and he was lightheaded. No one had given him a chance to have a break, and he needed food. He finally managed to excuse himself, and went to the next room and all his favourite foods were laid out. “Thank you,” he sighed and filled a plate high. He saw people approaching him and just needed a break. A few minutes alone. Everyone was nice and wonderful, and he had seen Harry smiling when he danced with everyone, an encouraging, happy smile; he knew he was going to make Harry sad when he said no one interested him.

He meant just to go out into the gardens, but he kept walking because other people were taking a bit of air and before he even realized, he was in the unicorn clearing. Well, at least he’d be left alone. He went to the center, and figured since he wasn’t calling to them he didn’t have to get naked - getting out of the uniform would be a bugger. He sat on the ground and stared at the plate.

All of a sudden he wasn’t hungry. Away from the energy of the ballroom he was faltering, aching, and not just his feet. He could feel an air settling around him, and picked at the food, knowing if he ate nothing it would be bad.

He heard a noise, and looked up. There was one unicorn at the edge. “Hello,” he called. “I do not have your food, but you are welcome to share mine.” It was forbidden to not offer what you had to such creatures. “There are sweets.” Unicorns loved all things sweet. “I bid you welcome next to me, and swear no harm will befall you. On my life.”

The unicorn came close, and Eggsy held up a fruit tart to it. “These aren’t my favourite, you know. I barely like them, I don’t like the custard underneath.” The unicorn ate it in two bites, and Eggsy laughed. “I know you can keep a secret. I’ve been saying I love them for years, because that way the kitchens make them regularly. And they are Merlin’s favourite. I want him to have all his favourite things.” He fed another bit off his plate to the unicorn. “Do you know what he wished?”

“I have not seen a shooting star to make a wish yet,” Merlin said from the edge of the clearing.

Eggsy looked over at him. In this space in his spellcaster robes he looked mythic, an impossible being. Merlin undid ropes and buckles and he watched the robes fall from him, leaving him just in leather trousers, and those painted symbols on his torso. “Hot in the robes?”

“Bloody stifling,” Merlin heaved a sigh of relief. “I swear, this time properly destroying them. Though I suppose I’d need them when you wed.”

“Yeah,” Eggsy hurt at the thought of marrying any but Merlin. “Could make it a royal decree, Merlin gets to wear whatever the fuck he wants the day I marry. Not that I’m going to marry.”

“May I approach?” Merlin asked, and Eggsy knew that he was asking the unicorn, not him. The unicorn gave a bow of head, and Merlin came and sat next to Eggsy. He picked up the other fruit tart on the plate. “These really are my favourite.”

“I know,” Eggsy said softly. “Are you enjoying the ball?”

“Some aspects more than others.” Merlin ate from the plate, handing some to the unicorn. The creature stepped away a bit, settled into the clearing, kneeling, before falling asleep, showing them its ultimate trust. “I disliked the noise.”

“Was pretty loud in there.”

“Harry was also crowing in my ear, about you coming into your own, and all the connections you were making, and all the offers that would roll in for you hand. I almost cast his voice away.”

“There are worse things that him wanting to see the kingdom secure.”

“Eggsy,” Merlin tilted his face, so that Eggsy was looking him in the eye. “All he wants is for you to be happy. The kingdom comes second.”

“I can’t ever be happy.”

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Eggsy said. He looked up at the skies. “Shit, bugger, Merlin. Shooting stars. Merlin make your wish. Your true wish. You gotta. Please.” He looked at Merlin who was watching him, and not the skies. “Merlin, you need to make a wish,” he insisted. He closed his eyes to give Merlin privacy.

He opened them in pure shock when Merlin’s lips pressed against his. He was still, and pretty sure that for just a moment he made the whole world disappear. Eggsy forgot how to breathe, how to think. It was such a small kiss, done in the length of a blink. Merlin sat back, and watched him. “Merlin?”

“My wish upon a star, is that you be happy, Eggsy. I had to do that, just once, to let go before you found that happiness. Whomever you love, they will be luckier than they ever realize.” Merlin stood up. He gave Eggsy a bow. “I stand beside you, always, Your Highness.”

His smile was sad. Eggsy didn’t know that a smile could make him want to cry. He looked at Merlin, and all he could see was love. The sort he had been carrying in his own heart for years. And now Merlin was walking away.

Open your eyes. Change everything, or never change anything again.

“I love you,” Eggsy called out.

“I know you do, but it is not the same as -”

“No, Merlin, I love you,” Eggsy stood up, and went over to him. “I have loved you in every way it is possible to love another person. As mentor, as friend, and as a man. Years all I have cared about is being next to you. Wishing you could see me.”

“I see you, I have seen you since you were seven and put in my care, a lad filled with impossible magic.”

“I’m not a child, Merlin. I don't want you to see me as a child, as your ward. I want you to see me as a lover. As a beloved."

“I am well aware of how I see you.” Merlin was staying a few paces away. “You were 19. Fresh from learning how to walk through walls, and you were so proud of yourself. There was this smile on your face. Brash, confident, for the first time utterly sure of yourself. And you broke me apart.”

“You left for three months.”

“In an instant, the love I had always carried for you changed, and I thought it so very wrong. I left to rid myself of the feeling. But when I returned, it became stronger than ever. So I loved you, because, Your Highness, I have no idea how anyone could not fall in love with you.”

“You did a very good job of hiding it.”

“Not very good, you just didn’t see.”

Eggsy moved to him, stopped in front of him. “My eyes are open, Merlin. I’m seeing you. No one in that ballroom would ever appeal to me, I was never going to wed, because none of them were you.”

“I have your last birthday gift to give you.”

“Is it another kiss?” Eggsy moved into Merlin’s space. “It would be the best gift ever if it was another kiss. A big kiss. A happy ever after kiss.”

“It is a puppy.”

“Fuck, now I’m torn.” Eggsy had always wanted a dog, but Harry had weird reactions around dogs. “Wait my third gift is always magic, how is a puppy magic?”

“It is a flying puppy,” Merlin said completely deadpan, and Eggsy began to laugh. The giggles just poured out of him, and his second kiss stopped them. They stood under the moon, a unicorn watching as they declared their love.

It was a dream come true.

Eggsy kept his eyes open the kiss, he didn’t know he would ever close them again.

********

“Harry, say something.”

“He’s bald.”

“I like it.”

“He drinks his tea with no sugar.”

“Neither do I.”

“A thing that makes you both incredibly suspect,” Harry replied. “Eggsy, please forgive me, but are you sure you are not mistaken?”

“I love him Harry. Merlin, the royal spellcaster. Your friend. My friend. My everything.”

“I have been aware of his feelings for you for years, but -”

“You fucking knew?” Eggsy stared at Harry in complete astonishment.

“He professed them to me, but promised to not approach you about them, to burden you with them. That you be given the chance to find your own love.”

“I did, and it is him.”

“A familial love.”

“Harry, I love you like family. I don’t want to see your dick, don’t dream about you -”

“Thank you, yes I understand,” Harry looked a little ill, at the thought of Merlin and Eggsy in bed. “I’m sorry, Eggsy I cannot approve of this.”

“I don’t need your approval, sir, for what is in my heart.” Eggsy glared at him. 

“No, but your marriage would be difficult if it is not met with my approval.”

“Harry, we love each other.”

“I’m scared,” Harry said, and Eggsy softened. “I’m scared that he is all you know. I’m scared that you’ve felt his feelings for you, even if you didn’t realize and they shaped you, and the more exposure you get to the world, you’ll realize it was a crush, and be trapped.”

“Harry, I love that you are looking out for me, but I promise it is true.” Eggsy went and hugged Harry. “I love him. I want to marry him. I want whatever time fate gives us, whether it is a day or 40 years.” Eggsy looked at Harry, who looked so torn. He hated seeing Harry worry like that. “I can prove it.”

“How?”

“You want me to see the world? Know that my heart is true?” Harry nodded. “I return with Roxy to her kingdom. Travel a bit, solidify some of the contacts made at the ball. And when I come home, and tell you that Merlin is all that I carry in my heart, then you believe me, and we plan a royal wedding.”

“You must be gone at least six months. And when you come back, if you two declare your union, you will have no stronger supporter, no one more proud than I.”

Eggsy kissed Harry’s cheek. “Done.” He and Merlin had known Harry would be concerned, and made this plan before Eggsy had spoken to Harry. Though it would have been nice if Merlin had mentioned Harry knew of Merlin’s feelings. But they were both used to guarding and hiding those feelings, it was hard to talk about.

Much fanfare was made of Eggsy’s journey, the streets lined with people seeing him off. He and Merlin had a private goodbye before he left. As Eggsy rode on a horse next to Roxy he looked up in the sky to see a raven flying, it flew with them until the borders of their lands, before it turned back.

“He loves you.”

“He does,” Eggsy smiled at Roxy. “Six months, not so bad. Think I can maybe hunt a dragon with you?”

Roxy grinned at him, and spurred her horse and the two were racing down the road to the lands of the east.

Eggsy was Harry’s son in every way but blood, which meant that adventure found him whether he wanted it to or not. When six months passed and there was no sign of Eggsy, no one worried; Harry was always late, and so too was his heir. Harry sent out men to ready the road for Eggsy, a grand welcome, that was never met. Word came from Roxy that he had been headed their way. But there was no Eggsy. Merlin cast trying to see Eggsy but he was too far, and Merlin’s magic couldn’t track him.

After a year, the kingdom worried.

After two, they officially mourned.

Harry became a shell, blaming himself for sending Eggsy away. Black hung in every window in the nation for a year.

Only Merlin didn’t mourn, he refused to believe Eggsy was lost, he was just a little late, like his father always was.

It was three years, and the kingdom was slowly beginning to move on. Merlin took the bucket to the clearing. He began to chant, and spread the food in a circle. He stripped his clothes and knelt. He finished the call and waited. He closed his eyes as he heard hooves. But one sounded different, heavy as if carrying a burden. He glowed with magic, ready to help, and opened his eyes.

“Hello,” he said.

“That’s it? I come riding in on a unicorn, and all I get is hello?” Eggsy slid off the creature, thin, wan, hair long, a sword on his back.

“You are late.”

“The world is really big and really messed up,” Eggsy said. He stepped into the circle, and stripped down as well. He knelt next to Merlin, and Merlin saw the scars covering his body, tattoos, burns, marks of pain, and honour and a host of other things. “Not going out there again, if I can avoid it. We also have a pet drake now. And maybe a bit of an alliance with the dwarves of the north?”

“I see. Roxy said you were beside her, and then sent home. She was broken when you did not return to us.”

“Weren’t her fault. Magic. A wicked queen. I’ll tell you everything later. I just need a favour first.”

“Anything,” Merlin promised.

“Kiss me? Prove this isn’t a dream? Because I’ve dreamed this so often, I’m scared I’m asleep.”

Merlin pressed his lips to Eggsy’s so hard that they fell over in the circle. Their naked bodies pressed against each other, both crying at the feel of it. The unicorns left, and the men held each other tight. “Eggsy,” Merlin breathed against his skin. “Eggsy.”

“This is what it took to get you to stop calling me Your Highness?” Eggsy joked.

Merlin looked down at him. “I love you.”

Eggsy smiled. “Learned a lot out there. A lot I am happy for, and a lot I wish I hadn’t. But one thing never changed. My heart belongs to you. Every day, every step I took, it was always yours, it will always be yours.”

“We need to get you to the castle. To Harry.”

“One more kiss,” Eggsy begged.

“One more,” Merlin said, and gave him the sort of kiss that appears at the ends of bard’s tales.

They dressed, and the servants screamed as they saw Eggsy. Harry came running out of the castle, and pulled Eggsy in for a tight hug, wouldn’t let go no matter how Eggsy nudged.

The nation celebrated their prince’s return for a week, the festivals and celebration being told about for years. And at the end of it, Merlin and Eggsy wed.

Eggsy never once kissed Merlin with his eyes closed.


End file.
